Biden lies: ‘We weren’t told they wanted more security’ in Benghazi

A State Department officer who worked in Libya has told congressional investigators that he requested more security for the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi months before it came under terrorist attack but that he received no reply from Washington, according to documents and interviews.

Eric Nordstrom, a regional security official at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli until July, told investigators that he sent two cables to the State Department in March and July and asked that more diplomatic security agents be assigned to the lightly guarded compound in Benghazi.

The State Department acknowledged Wednesday that it rejected appeals for more security at its diplomatic posts in Libya in the months before a fatal terrorist attack in Benghazi as Republicans suggested that lapses contributed to the deaths of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.

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Security officials on the ground “repeatedly warned Washington officials of the dangerous situation” in Libya, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said in his opening statement. “Washington officials seemed preoccupied with the concept of normalization.”

Charlene R. Lamb, a deputy assistant secretary for diplomatic security, told lawmakers she refused requests for more security in Benghazi, saying the department wanted to train Libyans to protect the consulate. “Yes, sir, I said personally I would not support it,” she said.